Operations Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Job Summary:

The Operations Manager serves as the operational backbone of Just in Time for Foster Youth — a central coordination point for the day-to-day systems that keep the organization running well. This role is equal parts systems thinker and relationship builder, bringing structure and reliability to purchasing, vendors, HR administration, facilities, fleet, and safety so that the rest of the team can focus on serving young people.

The Operations Manager brings consistency, care, and attention to detail across a broad portfolio of operational functions. They are someone who takes pride in making things work — who understands that operational excellence is what makes mission delivery possible, and who builds the kind of trust that allows leadership, staff, and vendors to rely on them as a steady, solutions-oriented presence.

This role works closely with the COO, the Controller, and department leaders across the organization. This position requires a physical presence at JIT’s San Diego office and occasional local travel for fleet, vendor, and event coordination purposes.

Core responsibilities for the Operations Manager are:

● Systems Thinking: See the interdependencies between purchasing, HR, facilities, and compliance — and design processes that keep these systems working together rather than in silos.

● Operational Reliability: Be the person staff and leadership can count on to follow through — tracking contracts, managing vendors, coordinating logistics, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

● Relationship Building: Manage vendors, contractors, and service providers with professionalism and a community orientation — interconnecting them within JIT’s network and ensuring partnerships serve the mission.

● Discretion & Confidentiality: Handle sensitive HR, personnel, and financial information with integrity — maintaining confidentiality and exercising sound judgment in all operational matters.

● Compliance & Safety: Keep the organization current on Cal-OSHA requirements, safety protocols, background checks, and required training — ensuring JIT meets its obligations to staff and the young people it serves.

Specific responsibilities include:

● Procurement, Purchasing & Event Support

o Execute purchases on behalf of budget owners — obtain approvals, gather quotes where applicable, conduct cost-benefit analysis, place orders, maintain proper fiscal documentation, and track orders to completion

o Set up and maintain vendors in the system with a relationship-building approach; keep purchasing records properly organized

o Coordinate the buying process end to end so staff with purchasing authority can approve and move quickly (budget owners hold purchasing thresholds; this role supports and processes their purchases)

o Serve as the operational bridge to the Controller on purchasing, vendors, contracts, credit card reports, and spending

o Identify, assess, and secure appropriate venues for events of varying size and complexity, including large-scale events involving multiple vendors and stakeholders

o Manage on-site event operations, including troubleshooting, decision-making, and team coordination

● Vendor & Contract Management

o Manage vendor relationships and serve as day-to-day point of contact; interconnect vendors within JIT’s community

o Track contracts across their lifecycle — maintain a renewal/expiration calendar and a central contract repository

o Collect and track certificates of insurance (COIs) from vendors

o Oversee vendor payment workflows, adapting to varying invoicing, billing, and payment requirements while maintaining accurate records and timely processing

● HR & Hiring Administration

o Coordinate onboarding and offboarding logistics

o Trigger and track new-hire setup with IT — confirm equipment and accounts are ready by day one

o Maintain personnel files, BambooHR data hygiene, and handbook acknowledgment tracking

● Compliance Tracking

o Track background checks and required-training completion

o Keep required training and certifications current; use digital workflow platforms (e.g., Formstack, Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Planner) to support tracking and process management

● Facilities Management

o Provide oversight of office operations and environment, including management of physical space, procurement of supplies, maintenance of equipment, and coordination of external service providers

o Coordinate and manage facilities-related vendors and service contracts, ensuring consistent service delivery and alignment with operational needs

● Fleet Management

o Manage vehicle maintenance schedules, registration, and insurance compliance

o Track vehicle usage, assignment, mileage, and records; coordinate driver-related documentation and requirements

● Safety Protocols

o Coordinate emergency procedures, drills, and incident reporting

o Maintain OSHA/Cal-OSHA postings and compliance

o Monitor, replenish, and maintain first aid and safety supplies to support a safe and prepared environment

● Additional Job Duties as Required

Qualifications: Education & Experience

o Three or more years of administrative or operations experience, ideally in a nonprofit or mission-driven setting

o Strong organizational skills and attention to detail across multiple concurrent systems

o Demonstrated ability to handle confidential HR and personnel information with discretion

o Comfort with HR and operational software (BambooHR or similar)

o Clear written and verbal communication

o Valid California driver’s license and clean driving record (for fleet oversight)

o Ability to pass Live Scan/background check

o Passion for the mission and commitment to advancing JIT’s impact

Qualifications: Skills, Competencies, and Behaviors

o Strategic Agility: Can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans

o Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change and shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.

o Organizational Agility/Analytical Skills : Spends time on what is important, eliminates roadblocks and creates focus; knowledgeable about how organizations work, knows how to get things done both through formal channels and the informal network; understands the cultures of organizations.

o Emotional Intelligence : Possesses a high level of organizational savvy, communication, and execution skills necessary to inspire and influence others. Demonstrates situational awareness and the ability and agility to succeed in a variety of circumstantial settings.

o Priority Setting: Spends their time and the time of others on what’s important; quickly zeros in on the critical few and puts the trivial many aside; can quickly sense what will help or hinder accomplishing a goal; eliminates roadblocks and creates focus

o Process and Project Management : Good at figuring out the processes necessary to get things done; knows how to organize people and activities; understands how to separate and combine tasks into efficient workflow; knows what to measure & how to measure it.

o Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions.

o Problem Solving: Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; is excellent at honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn’t stop at the first answers.

o Timely Decision Making: Makes decisions in a timely manner, sometimes with incomplete information and under tight deadlines and pressure; able to make a quick decision

o Integrity and Trust: Is widely trusted; is seen as a direct, truthful individual; can present the unvarnished truth in an appropriate and helpful manner; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; doesn’t misrepresent him/herself for personal gain

Core Values

Just in Time for Foster Youth is a value-driven organization so how a member of our team achieves results is as important as reaching the assigned outcomes.

These core values are essential:

o AUTHENTICITY : We are open, honest, and courageous, practicing confident vulnerability even in difficult circumstances.

o COLLABORATION: We think outside the box to find the WIN-WIN outcome together and achieve.

o INCLUSION: We embrace all people with compassion to honor their value and celebrate their unique identities—I matter, you matter.

o INNOVATION: We adjust to new challenges and constant change, finding creative ways to support continuous growth and improvement.

o INQUIRY : We seek to understand first and ask powerful questions to discover what is truly needed.

o INSPIRATION : We engage in a way that inspires our youth, volunteers, and community to reach their full potential.

o OWNERSHIP : We take responsibility and consistently follow through on our words, actions, promises, and commitments.

Language Skills

Fluent in English with excellent written and verbal communication. Ability to read, analyze, and interpret documentation. Ability to respond effectively to inquiries and complaints.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to apply concepts that relate to the above job responsibilities with their parameters.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee must have strong fine motor skills and is regularly required to sit; crouch and stand back up many times a day; walk/stand for at least 8 hours a day; reach overhead; use keyboard and mouse for at least 8 hours a day; and ability to hear and speak. The employee must have the ability to lift and carry at least 20 lbs. Specific vision abilities required by this job include strong or correctable near visual acuity, close vision, distance vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

EEO and Harassment Statement

Just In Time provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all applicants, contractors, and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of work, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Just In Time expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of contractors and employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.

Note: This is not necessarily a complete list of responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts, or working conditions associated with the job. While this list is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, the association reserves the right to revise the functions and duties of the job or to require that additional or different tasks be performed when circumstances change, (i.e., emergencies, changes in personnel, work load, rush jobs, or technological developments).

Compensation Range: $75K - $78K